An Interview with Evelyn Puerto

Evelyn Puerto reads just about anything, writes in multiple genres, and is the author of the award-winning Outlawed Myth epic fantasy series. When she married, she inherited three stepdaughters, a pair of step-grandsons, and a neurotic cat. Currently she writes from South Carolina.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

When I was in school, I hated writing. I’d put it off as long as I could. Years later, I was asked to write the memoir of a Baptist Ukrainian family who’d been persecuted in the Soviet Union. Working on that book created a love of writing in me. When that project won an award, I began to think that maybe I could be a writer. So, I decided to try my hand at fiction.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I heard a news story of some people who allowed their children to walk home alone from a nearby park and nearly had their kids taken away by social services because of it. That made me think of my own childhood, and how my friends and I would get on our bikes and be gone all day. No one was concerned as long as we showed up for meals.

That random news story made me consider how things have changed and what freedoms we’ve given up in exchange for safety. From there I created a fantasy world that did just that: the people sacrificed all freedom to ensure safety. And that’s where the initial idea for my first novel, Flight of the Spark, came from.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Of all my books, Flight of the Spark was the hardest to title. I brainstormed no less than 100 ideas. My editor and I picked the best ones, debated for a while, dreamed up some more possibilities, and finally settled on Flight of the Spark. I’m glad to say the rest of my books were a lot easier!

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

After graduate school, I worked in hospital administration as a strategic planner. Then I went to Russia as a missionary doing humanitarian aid. When I returned to the States, I worked in not-for-profit management for a few years. You could say I’m on my fourth career.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

While I was writing Flight of the Spark, I was just figuring out how to write fiction. To educate myself, I read a lot of books on writing as well as books in the fantasy genre. That’s about the time I discovered Brandon Sanderson’s work and have been a fan ever since.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

First and foremost, I hope readers will come away feeling they’d read an entertaining satisfying story. And if Flight of the Spark provokes any thought about what it means to sacrifice freedom for safety, all the better.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.